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Elemorya
Elemorya, or Elemoryatar was the founder of the first and only unified Kingdom of Prace. He was born to a humble family, orphaned and abandoned, and raised as a son by another pastoral family. Elemorya then pursued an education with the naga and guru of the former king of Numendor, Nirnaeth. Elemorya thereafter built the largest elven kingdom of all time. After centuries of rule, he renounced all his wealth and power, seeking enlightenment by traveling in Valendor and later the Misty Mountains. Elemorya became a monk devoted to the World Dragon, at which point he gave his own life through peaceful fasting. His sacrifice was welcomed by Ghi, who then descended into Prace to act as its sentinel and to introduce the eladrin to the mysteries of Mim Kapal. Elemorya's grand-nephew was King Priam, the first king of Valendor and the king of Lannis, who was also the father to Oepitorus. King Priam was extensively described in The Madelian. Elemorya's life and accomplishments are described in ancient Elvish texts, but they vary significantly in details depending on whether his great-grand-nephew or his family's most prominent rivals were recording his deeds. Elemorya was a pivotal figure in the history of elves. Prior to his consolidation of power, the neogi had invaded northern Cisteria, leaving a legacy of Hellastian states that continued to come into conflict and accelerate a rampant and perpetual state of conflict between kingdoms. The northern and eastern regions were divided into small city-states, while stronger military powers established themselves in the west. Under the counsel of Nirnaeth, Elemorya created a Hellastian empire, applied the principles of Nirnaeth's Statecraft, built a large army and continued expanding the boundaries of his empire. The kings of Madelia avoided war with him, and Elemorya's empire of Cisteria would resonate with elves for thousands of years. After unifying the Kingdom of Prace, Nirnaeth and Elemorya passed a series of major economic and political reforms. He established a strong central administration from Sasprinth, near the Lake of Twilight, patterned after Nirnaeth's oratory treatises on governance and politics. Elemorya's Prace was characterized by an efficient and highly organized structure. The empire built infrastructure such as irrigation, temples, mines and roads, leading to a strong economy. With internal and external trade thriving and agriculture flourishing, the empire built one of the first sophisticated, dedicated standing armies to help expand and protect its boundaries. Elemorya's reign, as well the dynasty that followed him, saw a decline in the base characteristics that defined the cult of Orgeus, and a solidification of elven moral frameworks. Elemorya was commemorated by elves long after the Sehanine, and even today receives recognition among those of Jade blood for beginning a true elven legacy. Youth and origins The ancestry of Elemorya is mostly speculation, with many elven houses claiming him as their own. Regardless, he was born to a rural family in Bagwe, a farming community in southern Numendor, with little acclaim. Despite the plenty that Cisteria is known for, an invasion from a northern kingship concluded with Bagwe being razed to cut off supply lines to insurgents in the east. As a result, Elemorya was abandoned at a young age by his fleeing family, who were later confirmed to have died shortly thereafter by the blade of the Ludorian knights. Elemorya was adopted by a pastoral family in Arwe, a village bordering the Nurnen in Numendor. His journey from Bagwe to Arwe is mostly unknown, but by most accounts he would have had to travel independently and under the threat of Ludorian knights to make it to Arwe. The pastoral family traveled the coasts of the Nurnen and raised peacocks. Elemorya demonstrated great aptitude and intellect, notably changing their peafowl's diet to give their plumage greater sheen and make them substantially larger, a diet of larvae rather than cracked grain. His future mentor Nirnaeth, a grand naga, traveled into Arwe to assess their defenses in light of the continuing expansion of the kingship of Ludorian. Elemorya was offered tutelage under Nirnaeth, if he chose to return with him to Numendor's capitol, the House of the Naga. Elemorya obliged and studied with Nirnaeth in the capitol, further inland. Building of the Elemoryan Empire After his tutelage in the House of the Naga Elemorya and his naga-guru Nirnaeth began recruiting an army after he completed his studies in the House of the Naga. This was in response to the growing threat of the southern Ludorian kingship taking southern cities in Numendor. Baredor was falling under their heel quite easily. Despite this, Ludor abandoned further campaigns of expansion some decades later, with the king being sacrificed by a coven of witches to the Spider-Goddess Chebulba. The coven ceased campaigns to consolidate power and build the cult to Chebulba. A supply of warriors already in place, the future emperor and his naga-guru chose to build alliances with local rulers and a small mercenary army of their own. Nirnaeth also identified talent for future administration. By the time of his fiftieth year and five years after Ludor ceased campaigning, this newly formed group had defeated some of the cities under the covenant of Chebulba in the northwest. Each victory led to an expanded army and territory. Nirnaeth provided the strategy, and Elemorya the execution, together expanding into the southern plains of Ludor. By this time, their army totaled at least 600,000. Southern expansion and the end of the coven of Chebulba In an alliance with a king of Selendor, Elemorya defeated the coven of Ludor in a bitterly fought war of attrition and had the witches consumed by Nirnaeth, whose magic returns to the earth. The king of Selendor, Relewen, and Elemeorya plan to divide up the old possessions of Baredor and Ludor. Yet within weeks, Relewyn died, poisoned by his son Malayeta, who succeeds him. Malayeta, under the command of the devil known only as Rakshasa, demands the inheritance of all the old territories of Ludor. Rakshasa vows to kill Elemorya for the death of the witches, who he holds in regard. Nirnaeth, seeing this deception, convinces Malayeta to accept Orgeus, putting him outside the control of the devil. He also discredits the devil in the eyes of Malayeta, and the new king of Selendor renounces Rakshasa and accepts only Orgeus as his god. Rakshasa's signet ring played a very significant role in Nirnaeth's overall strategy to discredit Rakshasa in Malayeta's eyes. A chance discovery of Rakshasa's official ring by Malayeta's spy helps Nirnaeth to prepare and authenticate a rival usurper as being favored by the devil. His seal then seals his fate, and he faded into obscurity for a long period of time. Conquest of Selendor After Malayeta perishes at the hands of another cultist of Rakshasa, Elemorya's mercenaries killed the governors responsible. The dual governors ruled the dominion north of the Misty Mountains, and Elemorya managed to do so "by the hands of the wilds, his connection to the natures of Prace." Nirnaeth describes, While Elemorya was lying asleep, after his fatigue of the fight of the day, a winged lion of great size having come up to him, licked off with his tongue the sweat that was running from him, and after gently waking him, left him. Being first prompted by this prodigy to conceive hopes of royal dignity, he drew together a band of robbers, and solicited the Hellastians to support his new sovereignty. Some time after, as he was going to war with the corrupted of Rakshasa, a wild owlbear of great bulk presented itself before him of its own accord, and, as if tamed down to gentleness, took him on its back, and became his guide in the war, and conspicuous in fields of battle. Another yet was the displacer beasts that wrangled and ensnared one such governor of southern Selendor, from his mount, and there he was so maimed to be unrecognizable. Conquest of Foendor Elemorya at this time had superseded the king of Numendor in power and rights, and was confirmed by Nirnaeth to overtake the position as its rightful emperor. Elemorya was less than a century old when he was declared emperor after surviving a journey through Valendor, taking a grape from the Grand Vine from the Tree of Many Branches. This allowed Elemorya and Nirnaeth began their empire building in eastern and southern Prace. After the death of the two governors in Selendor, put into place by the empire of Foendor, Elemorya entered Foendor in a claim of self-defense. Later described by Oepitorus, Always lying in wait for the neighboring nations, strong in arms and persuasive in council, he acquired the many lands beneath the shadow of the Misty Mountains, which include the great valley of Gorogoth of realized fears, the forests of the singing trees, places of running underground rivers made of liquid gems, and the place where no god has ever slept; and other adjacent peoples that had been subdued by Foendor, as far as the Arpasian Sea, so that the boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Prace ever held by any unified elves. The whole region from the Foen peak to the Arpasian Sea was subject to Foendor. Elemorya, in the shadow of the Foen, waged war with Hannoden, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship. Some of these exploits were performed before the death of Namunen and some afterward. The details of the engagement treaty are not known, but given that most of these southern holdings were ceded to Elemorya, it is thought Elemorya himself married a daughter of Hannoden. One such source alleged by Oepitorus described the marriage between an elven princess and Elemorya as being between "spring and summer," implying she was not native to Prace; once again, the details are unclear. In a return gesture, Elemorya sent 500 war elephants, which played a key role in Hannoden taking northern territories much later, his satrap swearing fealty to the emperor and becoming an hopeful for his succession. In addition to this treaty, Hannoden dispatched an ambassador, Megarya, to Elemorya, with the purpose of being a close vizier and lieutenant. Megarya's oral history was exceptionally valuable when his descendants were later questioned by Oepitorus. The two rulers maintained friendly relations and presents continued to be exchanged between them. This included exchanging presents, such as when Elemorya sent various aphrodisiacs to Hannoden. Oepitorus claims, Megarya said that some contrivances are of wondrous efficacy in such matters as to make people more amorous. He said such things by word of Elemorya, by reference to some of the presents which the emperor gave to Hannoden. Of these are which were to act like charms in producing a wonderful degree of affection, while some, on the contrary, were to banish love from one's heart ... Elemorya in the Misty Mountains While campaigning in Selendor, Elemorya fought and defeated the mightiest of the champions appointed as governor, a monastic warrior named Namunen. Elemorya defeated him in single combat in order to preserve the lives of their troops from fighting in such an environment. After this victory, Nirnaeth spent several months studying the eremite traditions in Selendor and became a convert to Mim Kapal, seeing himself not as a serpent of Orgeus but a dragon blessed by the World Dragon. Nirnaeth's conversion to the cult of Mim Kapal heavily influenced Elemorya, who would later devote his life to the monastic tradition and lead to the coming of Ghi. Subjugation of the Tadail Alliance After annexing Hannoden's provinces save for those west of the Lunen river, Elemorya had a vast empire extending across the southern regions of Prace, from the Bay of R'geas to the jungles of southern Prace. Elemorya then began expanding his empire beyond the barrier of the Lake of Twilight and into Fauglindor, or the Plains of Great Thirst. By the time his conquests were complete, all of Prace save for Hannoden's holdings and the then-mysterious Valendor. The details are extremely hard to come by. However, Oepitorus is the best source for what scarce information has been passed down. According to Megarya's oral tradition, two kingdoms formed the "two-legged" Tadail Alliance in western Prace, along the Lake of Twilight. This alliance was ruled by two kings both chosen by Orgeus, and who were also mentored by a naga-guru. The name of this naga, as well as the details of the Tadail Alliance has not been recorded, apart from the concept that the alliance was an opposite to Elemorya. The alliance was demolished sometime after the Siege of Sasprinth, which was built as an enclave to funnel supplies across the Lake of Twilight. Elemorya had a rivalry with the two other kings: ... how for three months were armies numbering 750,000 outside of Sasprinth, and ships of food, fresh water, and sharpened spears never made it across the nenuial of Twilight had put the emperor in a position of little leverage; Sasprinth was visited in what were feared final weeks of the fortress by the goddess Orgeus to the dreams of those in slumber; indeed, she shared that she too was to visit the two kings of the Tadailari Alliance with the same decree: the victor of this conflict was indeed her favored, and would reign uncontested for one thousand years, whose descendants would thus never perish. Lest they forfeit this opportunity, the goddess demanded fealty to her and for their reverence in exchange for her blessings. Contrary to this, Elemorya endowed his 600,000 soldiers with confidence. He had noticed a slick film that gathered on the banks of the Lake of Twilight before earthquakes; he believed this was caused by foul and ill-tempered fish thrashing in the lake and shaking the earth, the film being cast from their bodies when they shook. He predicted that an earthquake would ensue, and prepared Sasprinth for the event. Once the earthquake did indeed come with the advent of the lake's slime gathering on the shoreline, Elemorya attacked the ill-prepared kings in their cities. In less than a week, the kings were marched into the Arpasian Sea ("to walk to the Ions by foot"), where they were drowned. Elemorya was declared Elemoryatar, the King of all Prace. Army Elemorya's army was large, well trained and paid directly by the state as suggested by Nirnaeth, and was estimated to be between 400,000 and 600,00. This includes 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, and 9,000 war elephants. Rule, succession and death Elemorya applied the governance and economic policies described in Nirnaeth's Statecraft. This led to the creation of many accounts in the historic, legendary and hagiographic literature of various elven religions about Elemorya. Elemorya's rule was a structured administration, where he had a council of ministers hand-selected by Nirnaeth. The empire was organized into territories called pievas (later called "regions," centers of regional power were protected with large fortresses called ostirions, and state operations funded with treasuries of gold mined from Sasprinth. Infrastructure projects Ancient epigraphical evidence suggests that Elemorya, under counsel from Nirnaeth, started and completed many irrigation reservoirs and networks across Prace in order to ensure food supplies for civilian population and the army, a practice continued by his regional successors. Prosperity in agriculture was one of the required duties of these lords. High Elven inscriptions found in the Hall of the Moon King, at Ilvanan, mention that it repaired and enlarged the irrigation infrastructure built by Elemorya. Elemorya's state also started mines, centers to produce goods, and networks for trading these goods. His rule developed land routes for goods transportation within Prace, disfavoring water transport. Elemorya expanded "roads suitable for carts", preferring these over those narrow tracts that allowed only pack animals. Elemorya and local rulers who were styled in his legacy were "great road builders". Elemorya is credited with the completion of a thousand-mile-long highway connecting Sasprinth in the west to House of the Naga in the east, where he studied. The other major strategic road infrastructure credited to this tradition spread from Falnor, just south of the Lake of Twilight, in practically every direction across Prace. This infrastructure not only boosted trade and commerce, but also helped move his armies rapidly and more efficiently than ever before. Elemorya and his counsel Nirnaeth seeded weapon manufacturing centers, and kept it a monopoly of the state. However, the state encouraged competing private parties to operate mines and supply these centers. They considered economic prosperity as essential to religious satisfaction, adopting a policy of avoiding war with diplomacy, yet continuously preparing the army for war to defend its interests, and other ideas in Statecraft. Arts and architecture The evidence of arts and architecture during Elemorya's time is grandiose. The edict inscriptions and carvings on monumental pillars were a part of the spreading religious conversions from Orgeus to Mim Kapal. While the cults of Orgeus were indeed devoted to the arts, without complex cosmology or morality, and the necessity for state patronage inhibiting the spread of the religion, the mysteries of Mim Kapal appealed greater to the eladrin of Prace during the Hellastian period. The grand architecture of the Misty Mountains was the primary inspiration for many major public works projects; of note was the construction of the Palace of Latent Dreaming in Sasprinth, which was built from orichalcum mined in Epicurim in the latter years of Elemorya's rule. Succession Dissatisfied with the patronage of Orgeus, and seeking enlightenment for his people to rule well after his time, Elemorya renounced his wealth and all heirs, selecting Nirnaeth to rule in his stead while he traveled Prace to seek wisdom and the future of statecraft. Elemorya had ruled for several hundred years, between two and seven centuries, and Nirnaeth's rule would be for approximately a half century. After Elemorya's renunciation, Nirnaeth maintained friendly relations with the existing Foendor state. During this time, the cult of Mim Kapal flourished, with the worship of Orgeus sharply declining and her claim over Valendor weakening as roads encroached the northern side of the Lake of Twilight, following defiles and narrow paths in defiance to her dictates. Death Elemorya traveled Valendor alone for some decades before returning to the Misty Mountains in Selendor, where he reconnected with the first cults of the World Dragon. He lived as an ascetic in the Speartip Spire for several years before fasting to death in the Cave of a Thousand Saints, near the summit. The practice of starving oneself to death was one such method of proof that an individual had forsaken the mysteries of Orgeus for that of Mim Kapal. Orgeus, a goddess of excess and indulgence, is starkly contrasted by the more reserved cults of the World Dragon that emphasize restraint. Though the practice is not necessarily widespread, especially in the modern day, a community with at least one such person committing to the practice was seen as a sacrifice on behalf of all of their contemporaries. After Elemorya's death, his act was taken as proof that the ancient Hellastians were indeed ready for the mysteries of dragons; Mim Kapal's daughter Ghi was sent to first destroy Orgeus, then to teach the naga proper doctrine; she was also charged to protect Prace even if it meant laying down her life. Legacy Elemorya is one of the most widely respected figures in elven lore. His sacrifice in the Cave of a Thousand Saints, masterful strategy in conquering Prace, and unification of a warring land has been both inspirational for future leaders, and subversive for local populations; for elves to respect some great unifier, they compare them to Elemorya, an impossible standard to meet. The life and death of Elemorya has been chronicled in many works of art and literature. Perhaps of greatest importance is his commentaries included in Nirnaeth's Statecraft, written many centuries after his death. His life is also dramatized in many plays and paintings. Category:Elves Category:Famous philosophers Category:Characters Category:Elven kings